Business & Tech

Trenton Dairy Queen Owners Make Ice Cream a Family Affair

Dairy Queen honored Trenton natives Beverly and Fred Tefend for more than 30 years of owning and operating the popular ice cream stop.

Beverly Tefend, 75, served her first ice cream when she was a little girl less than a mile from the Dairy Queen she and her husband, Fred Tefend, 78, purchased in 1991.
Her father, Orville Brown, began running the concession stand at Elizabeth Park in the 1930s, and Beverly Tefend often found herself helping her father serve all types of tasty treats.
"He usually made me work in the back," Beverly Tefend said with feigned regret.
With ice cream in her veins and motivated to get out of the back room, Beverly Tefend purchased her first Dairy Queen in 1981, and the Tefend family have honored the family tradition of serving ice cream each year since.
Dairy Queen recently honored the Trenton natives for more than 30 years of ownership.
The Tefend Dairy Queen in Trenton, 1614 West Road, was one of the first Dairy Queen locations in Michigan--built in 1952, according to Beverly Tefend.
The seasonal day-to-day operations of the Dairy Queen locations in Trenton and Dearborn Heights now belong to son, Rick Tefend, 53, and daughter-in-law, Lisa Tefend, 51, who also employ their three children--Caitlyn, 21, Andrew, 18, and Nicholas, 14.
Beverly and Fred Tefend said they've "unofficially" retired, spending half the year in Florida's Gulf Coast.
But, when duty calls both can still be found serving the cold treat that has become a profound part of their family and the Trenton community.
"Almost all my grandchildren worked here," Beverly Tefend said. "The kids are a big help."
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